CCA Protocols

The College of Commercial Arbitrators Protocols for Expeditious, Cost‐Effective Commercial Arbitration Key Action Steps for Business Users, Counsel, Arbitrators & Arbitration Provider Institutions Thomas J. Stipanowich, Editor‐in‐Chief Curtis E. von Kann and Deborah Rothman, Associate Editors © 2010 College of Commercial Arbitrators The College wishes to encourage the widest use of these Protocols. Accordingly, all readers are permitted to copy and republish (without charge) this document in any medium, provided that the document is reproduced accurately, without alteration, and in a non‐misleading context and provided further that the College’s authorship and copyright are acknowledged. The College of Commercial Arbitrators Protocols for Expeditious, Cost‐Effective Commercial Arbitration Key Action Steps for Business Users, Counsel, Arbitrators and Arbitration Provider Institutions Table of Contents Foreword.................................................................................................................................vi About the Editors ..................................................................................................................viii I. Speed, Economy and Efficiency in Commercial Arbitration: Failed Expectations, Shared Responsibility ........................................................................................................ 1 II. The Root of the Problem: Arbitration Has Become Too Much Like Litigation ..................... 4 A. Reduced Use of Trial; Growth of Commercial Arbitration ................................................. 4 B. Importation of Trial Practices into Arbitration ................................................................... 5 1. Discovery.......................................................................................................................6 2. Motion Practice............................................................................................................. 8 3. Other Concerns ............................................................................................................. 9 C. Looking Beyond Litigation‐Style Arbitration..................................................................... 10 III. Business Users & In‐house Counsel, Providers, Outside Counsel and Arbitrators Must All Play a Role in Promoting Speed, Efficiency and Economy in Arbitration..............13 A. The Need for a Mutual Effort............................................................................................ 13 B. The Role of Business Clients and In‐House Counsel ......................................................... 14 1. The Importance of Effective Choice‐Making .............................................................. 15 2. Reasons Business Clients and Counsel Fail to Take Control and Make Effective Choices......................................................................................................... 15 3. Business Clients and Counsel Must Change These Realities ...................................... 16 C. The Role of Provider Organizations .................................................................................. 17 D. The Role of Outside Counsel............................................................................................. 19 E. The Role of Arbitrators ..................................................................................................... 20 F. The Central Lesson............................................................................................................ 21 ii IV. Protocols for Expeditious, Cost‐Effective Commercial Arbitration ....................................22 General Principles............................................................................................................ 22 A Protocol for Business Users and In‐House Counsel........................................................ 24 1. Use arbitration in a way that best serves economy, efficiency and other business priorities. Be deliberate about choosing between "one‐size‐fits‐all" arbitration procedures with lots of "wiggle room" and more streamlined or bounded procedures................................................................................................... 24 2. Limit discovery to what is essential; do not simply replicate court discovery. .......... 26 3. Set specific time limits on arbitration and make sure they are enforced. ................. 26 4. Use "fast‐track arbitration" in appropriate cases....................................................... 29 5. Stay actively involved throughout the dispute resolution process to pursue speed and cost‐control as well as other client objectives.......................................... 29 6. Select outside counsel for arbitration expertise and commitment to business goals. ........................................................................................................................... 30 7. Select arbitrators with strong case management skills.............................................. 32 8. Establish guidelines for early "fleshing out" of issues, claims, defenses, and parameters for arbitration.......................................................................................... 34 9. Control motion practice.............................................................................................. 36 10. Use a single arbitrator in appropriate circumstances. ............................................... 37 11. Specify the form of the award. Do not provide for judicial review for errors of law or fact. .............................................................................................................. 38 12. Conduct a post‐process "lessons learned" review and make appropriate adjustments. ............................................................................................................... 42 A Protocol for Arbitration Providers................................................................................ 43 1. Offer business users clear options to fit their priorities............................................. 43 2. Promote arbitration in the context of a range of process choices, including "stepped" dispute resolution processes..................................................................... 44 3. Develop and publish rules that provide effective ways of limiting discovery to essential information.................................................................................................. 45 4. Offer rules that set presumptive deadlines for each phase of the arbitration; train arbitrators in the importance of enforcing stipulated deadlines. ..................... 55 5. Publish and promote "fast‐track" arbitration rules.................................................... 55 6. Develop procedures that promote restrained, effective motion practice................. 56 7. Require arbitrators to have training in process management skills and commitment to cost‐ and time‐saving. ...................................................................... 56 iii 8. Offer users a rule option that requires fact pleadings and early disclosure of documents and witnesses. ......................................................................................... 57 9. Provide for electronic service of submissions and orders.......................................... 57 10. Obtain and make available information on arbitrator effectiveness......................... 58 11. Provide for expedited appointment of arbitrators..................................................... 58 12. Require arbitrators to confirm availability. ................................................................ 59 13. Afford business users an effective mechanism for raising and addressing concerns about arbitrator case management. ........................................................... 60 14. Offer process orientation for inexperienced users..................................................... 60 A Protocol for Outside Counsel ........................................................................................ 61 1. Be sure you can pursue the client's goals expeditiously. ........................................... 61 2. Memorialize early assessment and client understandings......................................... 62 3. Select arbitrators with proven management ability. Be forthright with the arbitrators regarding your expectations of a speedy and efficient proceeding......... 62 4. Cooperate with opposing counsel on procedural matters......................................... 63 5. Seek to limit discovery in a manner consistent with client goals............................... 64 6. Periodically discuss settlement opportunities with your client. ................................ 64 7. Offer clients alternative billing models....................................................................... 65 8. Recognize and exploit the differences between arbitration and litigation................ 65 9. Keep the arbitrators informed and enlist their help promptly; rely on the chair as much as possible............................................................................................ 66 10. Help your client make appropriate changes based on lessons learned..................... 66 11. Work with providers to improve arbitration processes. ............................................ 67 12. Encourage better arbitration education and training. ............................................... 67 A Protocol for Arbitrators

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